


Irony

by DarylsBabyGirl



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl Dixon Angst, Kissing, M/M, Richonne never happened, Spoilers for Season 9, Walkers, tongue action
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 14:16:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16704019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarylsBabyGirl/pseuds/DarylsBabyGirl
Summary: Daryl's been searching for Rick for six years. Just when he's about to give up, someone shows up to save him.





	Irony

Six years. He’d been searching for six years. He was tired, exhausted. He barely ate, barely drank, barely slept. He made sure Dog stayed fed and watered. He didn’t have anyone else to take care of. The animal was good company and Daryl knew he shouldn’t get attached, but he couldn’t help it. He had an empty hole in his heart. Dog couldn’t exactly fill it completely, but it was enough to keep him going. 

He never found Rick’s body near the bridge, so he's expanded his search. As the months passed without a single clue, his search continued to expand. He tracked walkers and survivors, searching each face for Rick’s with no luck. He didn’t even know where he was anymore. He didn’t bother looking at road signs. His eyes were constantly on the ground, searching for tracks to follow. 

As he trudged carefully along the top of a hill that had a riverbed at the base. He was reminded of the forest that surrounded the Greene Farm and his search for Sophia. He stopped when he spotted movement in the water. A walker was trying to crawl out of the water to catch a rabbit, but its leg must’ve been caught. The walker was wearing a dark brown leather jacket with faux fur along the collar. Daryl’s heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be. 

He stepped forward, hand reaching out to grab onto a tree to slowly lower himself down. His foot slipped and his whole body started sliding down. He let out a startled yell and heard Dog barking and whining as his body rolled and jerked this way and that. He finally came to a stop and groaned in pain. He was getting too old for this. He could hear the walker snarling and growling and glared at it as he slowly pushed himself up on his hands and knees. He looked around. The rabbit was long gone and he could still hear Dog barking and whining. 

“Hush!” He yelled up at the dog, watching him pace back and forth. The dog stopped and lowered down on his belly, whimpering softly. Daryl sighed and rubbed his face. He was so damn tired. 

This was too ironic. The riverbed looked almost exactly like the one he’d fallen into while searching for Sophia, only this time he was searching for Rick. He missed the man so damn much. His heart never hurt quite like this. Then again, he’d never been in love before. Not like this, at least. He turned to look at the walker as it continued to snarl and reach for him. It wasn’t Rick. It wasn’t even a man. He could tell by the bit of breast he could see peeking out from under the walker’s jacket. 

He couldn’t even get any closure. 

A soft sob left his lips. All his pent-up grief came burst out in a loud yell. He unsheathed his knife and turned to the walker. He grabbed the walker’s stringy, wet hair and sank his knife into its head, again and again, taking all his anger out on it even after the walker fell still. After nearly ten stabs he finally stopped. His legs trembled, unable to hold him up anymore. He fell back on his ass in the water, dropping the blade with a sploosh. He panted and sobbed. The tears left tracks on his cheeks as they rolled down, taking dirt, grime and dried sweat with them. He didn’t know how long he sat there for. 

Another walker came out of the water, snarling and stumbling toward him. He couldn’t bring himself to care. He could hear Dog barking and whining above him. He started weighing the pros and cons of letting the walker kill him. Dog would be fine on his own. He was a good hunting dog. He hadn’t seen the others in five years, not since he started expanding his search area. So, they probably didn’t even know if he was dead or alive anymore. 

The walker was getting closer, water sloshing around it. The dog whined and slowly started making his way down the hill. Daryl stared down at the water under him with blank eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to care as he felt the walker’s breath on his bare shoulder. The walker’s wet, grimy hands latched onto his arms. The dog continued to bark. Daryl closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate.

“DARYL!” 

Daryl’s eyes snapped open. A gunshot echoed in the forest and birds twittered and flew away. The bullet sent the walker tumbling to the side. Daryl looked up where the voice came from. It was like seeing an angel. Rick stood on a large rock embedded in the side of the hill, the sun shining brightly behind him. He had on clean tight jeans and a light blue, long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He lowered his gun and put it back in its holster. 

“Rick..?”

The hunter slowly stood up and stumbled toward the man. Rick met him halfway, catching the man when he stumbled. Daryl gripped onto the back of Rick’s shirt, face buried in the man’s neck. He could feel Rick’s heart beating against him and hear him breathing, feel his breath on his shoulder. Rick’s hands were gripping him tightly, fisting at the back of his vest. 

“Yer alive..?”

Rick smiled, pulling back enough to look into Daryl’s eyes. “Yeah.” He gripped the back of Daryl’s sweaty neck. “What’re you doin all the way out here?”

“Lookin fer you.” Daryl whispered. “How..? You… we saw the explosion…”

Rick stepped back a bit more, hands going to his hips. “... Jadis. She flew me out on a helicopter. I found myself in some hospital, barely clinging to life. It took me months to escape that place. When I did I had to find out where I was before I could find my way back. I managed to get here to South Carolina, but I got hurt again and I took over this community.”

Daryl stared at him. “So… ya jus… gave up? Yer not gonna go back to Alexandria? Back ta Judy ‘n everyone else?”

“I-I am… I just have to make sure this community is under proper care before I can leave them. Its what Carl would want me to do.” Rick whispered, looking down. 

The mention of Carl had Daryl’s chest aching. He nodded after a moment. “So… we’re in… South Carolina?”

The man looked up at him and smirked a bit. “The great Daryl Dixon doesn’t know where he is?”

Daryl’s cheeks flushed a bit and he growled. He shoved Rick’s shoulder playfully as Dog came running over to them. “Fuck off, man… I been so focused on findin you I ain’t bothered payin attention ta where I am!” 

Rick chuckled, grabbing Daryl’s arm and pulling him close again. “Fuck, I missed you, Daryl.” He hugged the hunter tightly, hand on the back of his neck and gripping the back of his vest. He sighed softly and chuckled. “You stink, Dixon.”

Daryl chuckled and leaned back just a tiny bit. “S’what happens when ya live in the woods, dick.” 

Rick turned his face enough to look in Daryl’s eyes. “I’m bringing you home with me, Dixon.” He moved his hand from the hunter’s neck to his cheek. “Gonna give you a bath, shave and hair cut.”

“What am I? A stray?” Daryl chuckled, nuzzling his nose against Rick’s. “You gonna at least keep me inside ‘n not in the dog house?” Rick’s smile and the twinkle in his eyes made the hunter’s heart skip a beat. He gripped Rick’s shirt tightly as if scared the man would disappear if he let go.

Rick smiled and chuckled. “You’re not going anywhere again, Daryl. I’m never letting you out of my sight.” He glanced down at Daryl’s lips, then leaned forward to press their lips together. 

It felt so right. He groaned tilted his head a tiny bit to deepen it. His tongue flicked across the hunter’s lips. Daryl sighed and parted his lips, groaning when Rick’s tongue pushed in. Their tongues brushed together making them both groan. When they realized what they were doing, they both jumped back, cheeks flushed and eyes unsure. While it had felt right and felt good, they weren’t sure if the other felt the same. Daryl’s dog whined, staring up at them.

Rick cleared his throat, licking his lips. “Anyways, follow me. My community isn’t that far away.” The hunter nodded and followed him up the path.

**Author's Note:**

> May turn into a chapter fic!


End file.
